Sport stars for Asterix film

David Beckham will join fellow sports stars Zinedine Zidane and Michael Schumacher on the set of the new Asterix film.Photo: AP

Real Madrid footballers David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane and
German Formula One driver Michael Schumacher will have small roles
in an upcoming movie Asterix at the Olympic Games.

The northeastern Spanish region of Valencia and the producer
Pathe signed an agreement to start shooting the
French-Spanish-German coproduction, the third part of an Asterix
series, near Alicante on June 19.

French actor Gerard Depardieu will continue to play Obelix, the
fat friend of the clever Gaul Asterix who defeats the Romans with
the help of his magic potion.

Asterix is played by Clovis Cornillac. The film will also
feature Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon as Julius Cesar.

The $US93 million ($A125.8 million) movie directed by Frederic
Forestier and Thomas Langmann will be the most expensive in
European film history, Spanish press reports today said.